Will Harper
Weisman, Greg (2011-01-28). Question #12913. Ask Greg. Retrieved 2011-01-29. | species = Human | designation = B06 | gender = Male | hair color = Auburn | eye color = Blue | mentor = Green Arrow (former) | relatives = | affiliation = | powers = Expert marksman | equipment = Bow and trick arrows | first = 101 | voice = Crispin Freeman }} Red Arrow'''In 1.01 "Independence Day" and 1.03 "Welcome to Happy Harbor", Roy appeared as Speedy. He first appeared as Red Arrow in 1.06 "Infiltrator". (real name '''Roy Harper) is a superhero archer from Star City. His alias was Speedy whilst partnered with Green Arrow, but became Red Arrow after his defection from his former mentor. He is currently a solo crime fighter, and an associate of the Team. Despite not being part of the Team, he has access to Mount Justice. Personality Roy's personality is in sharp contrast to his erstwhile mentor, Green Arrow. Unlike Green Arrow's lax and friendly disposition, Roy is far more serious and is not at all tolerant of juvenile acts. He is fiery, short tempered and possesses a dry sense of humor. Out of the original four teenage pupils, Roy is the most brash and outspoken. He demands respect, despite his own inability to show respect to anyone else. After becoming a solo hero, he came to the conclusion that the Team was not in his league. He is also shown to be extremely impatient and gives little thought to the consequences of his actions. He initially speaks dismissively and rudely towards his friends when they attempt to convince him to join their team, as he wants no connection with the League. Despite this, he is also protective of them, warning Artemis not to hurt them when he realizes that she is lying to them about her background. After getting help from Aqualad to guard Lex Luthor from the Shadows, he gained respect for the Team. He is now willing to help them when they are in need. Physical appearance Roy has auburn hair and blue eyes. He is tall in stature, around the same height as Aqualad. Due to the rigorous training with Green Arrow, he is quite muscular, primarily in the upper body region. Because of his rather serious personality, it is uncommon for a smile to be on his face, instead a frown or a deadpan look being his standard facial expression. While under the guise of Speedy, he dons a yellow sixteenth century-style hat complete with the feather, yellow gloves, boots, belt and a red suit. He later abandons the hat after quitting as Green Arrow's partner. After re-branding himself as Red Arrow, the suit itself is redesigned. It is now predominantly black, with a red chest and collar. His quiver (red) is now attached with two grey shoulder straps connected across the chest, and his gloves (black) are fingerless. History Early life Weisman, Greg (2011-02-09). "Question #13003". Ask Greg. Retrieved 2011-04-16. He quickly came to see himself as Green Arrow's partner rather than a mere sidekick. Present Speedy and Green Arrow reacted to Icicle Jr.'s attack on a suspension bridge in Star City. Eventually, Speedy knocked him out with a trick arrow. Green Arrow joked about Icicle's glass jaw, but an unamused Speedy was more focused on heading to the Hall of Justice. He was ready to become a full-fledged member of the League. .]] Green Arrow took Speedy to the Hall of Justice, where they joined Batman, Robin, Flash, Kid Flash, Aquaman and Aqualad. Inside, Green Arrow and the other members of the League are called into a meeting. Speedy immediately sensed something amiss, and became infuriated when it turned out to be little more than a "glorified backstage pass". He revealed that Green Arrow had told him all about the League's real base, the Watchtower, and tried to get the others to see his point of view. When this failed, Speedy quit, throwing down his hat and walking out of the Hall of Justice to become his own man. after a brief encounter with Brick.]] He subsequently returned to Star City, where he took down Brick's shipment of advanced weapons at the docks. Word of his going solo hadn't reached everyone; Brick still believed he worked for Green Arrow. An annoyed Speedy eventually encased him in high-density polyurethane foam. When Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash came to try to convince him to join the Team, he refused. He told them that the Team was a joke and a means by which the Justice League could keep the sidekicks busy and in their place. He wished to have no part in it. After Serling Roquette of Royal University in Star City was kidnapped by the League of Shadows, Red Arrow traveled to Infinity Island to rescue her. He managed to infiltrate the base and successfully rescued her, but by this time, she had already created the Fog for the Shadows. .]] In the hopes of getting help protecting Roquette, Red Arrow traveled to Mount Justice. He was not pleased to see Green Arrow and his new protégé, Artemis. Roy was distrustful of her, knowing she is not what Green Arrow and Artemis claim, his "niece". He did not pursue the matter, and eventually gives the assignment: protecting Roquette in the local High School. about "hurting his friends".]] Red Arrow awaited Artemis when she returned to Gotham City, and confronted her. However, as both Batman and Green Arrow would only lie for a very good reason, her secret would be safe with him. That would change, however, if she hurt the Team. of treachery.]] Roy followed up a lead that Cheshire was out to disrupt the peace summit between North and South Rhelasia. She was indeed nearby, ready to shoot the independent arbitrator in the gridlocked negotiations as he arrived by car. A well-placed arrow sent the rocket propelled grenade flying up instead. The police arrested both him and Cheshire, but at the behest of the arbitrator, Lex Luthor, Red Arrow is released. Luthor offered to hire him as a bodyguard to protect the summit, but Roy declined any money from him. Luthor was mildly amused, and accepted the free offer. flirts with Red Arrow whilst behind bars.]] Red Arrow visited Cheshire in jail to interrogate her. He is unsuccessful in getting information, as she feeds him only vague answers and teases. She is busted out by Sportsmaster, and Red Arrow pursued them across the rooftops. They eventually made it to the escape helicopter. Red Arrow shot an arrow with a line at the departing chopper, but Cheshire cut it off. Red Arrow managed to shoot an arrow with a high-density foam to make himself a landing site on a rooftop. But he was not out of the fight yet. The arrow he shot at the helicopter contained a tracer, and he tracked Cheshire and Sportsmaster to the League of Shadows's base. He spotted them, and their master, Ra's al Ghul, and listened in on their conversation. But Ra's proved to be superior to his assassins, and noticed Roy straight away. Cheshire and Sportsmaster engaged him, forcing him to flee. He jumped into the river and made it to the other side. There, Red Arrow contacted Aqualad, finally admitting he may need some help. and Red Arrow team up.]] Aqualad and Red Arrow attended the peace summit, hoping to find Cheshire there. She was, and Aqualad spotted her straight away. They stopped her bomb together, and engaged her and her newly arrived backup, Sportsmaster and assassins. Red Arrow takes on Cheshire, leaving Aqualad with Sportsmaster. They won the day after Red Arrow shot the sprinkler system, allowing Aqualad free reign to use his Atlantean magic. Aqualad created a snake with the water and took out numerous men, but Cheshire threw a smoke bomb that allowed her and Sportsmaster an escape. With the smoke cleared and the treaty signed, Red Arrow and Aqualad discussed the affairs. During the fight, Sportsmaster had revealed his superiors had a mole in the team, and Red Arrow was not fond of Aqualad's idea not to tell the team and investigate in silence. Red Arrow also admitted to his friend that he now gives the Team more respect than he initially did. Red Arrow helped to ward off a giant plant creature in Star City, alongside Green Arrow and Black Canary. The three heroes were unable to save a bus full of children, but luckily, Guy Gardner caught it in time. Red Arrow participated in a meeting with Batman, Red Tornado, Robin and Aqualad to determine the identity of the mole within the team. This meeting proved inconclusive, however. Powers and abilities Like his former mentor, Green Arrow, Speedy/Red Arrow is a master with a bow and arrow. * Expert marksman: With an archer's main weapon being the bow and arrow, the aim of the marksman can mean the difference between life and death. Speedy/Red Arrow is a highly skilled marksman, having been trained by the best. * Hand to hand combat: Green Arrow undoubtedly trained Speedy/Red Arrow in the basics of hand to hand combat should his bow ever fail him. He displayed impressive skill when he knocked out two League of Shadows's assassins guarding Doctor Roquette. He has also managed to go head-to-head with Cheshire and block some of her attacks, though only for a short time. * Stealth: Speedy/Red Arrow has shown some level of stealth. He snuck on to Infinity Island without any guards noticing him. Equipment Bow and arrow: Like his mentor, Green Arrow, Red Arrow uses a bow and arrow in combat. Red Arrow has been seen utilizing two different bows. As Speedy, he used a recurve bow. After assuming the name Red Arrow, he used a new compound bow as well as a redesigned recurve bow. He seems to use them interchangeably and likely for specific purposes, but seems to favor the recurve bow for general usage. When not in use, he would keep his recurve bow over his shoulder. His compound bow can be easily folded and stored in a briefcase. .]] Trick arrows: Like his former mentor, Red Arrow utilizes many types of trick arrows. He has been shown using: * Punch arrow: arrows that can "punch" an opponent, * Explosive arrow: arrows that explode on impact, * Foam arrow: arrows that can release a high-density polyurethane foam to engulf and incapacitate its targets or create a softer landing * 'Taser arrow: '''arrows that can electrocute and knock-out armored soldiers, * '''EMP arrow: '''arrows that can overwrite the feeds from security cameras, * '''Zip-line arrow: '''arrows that carry a zip-line, which he can slide down. While saving Dr. Roquette he also used a blue boat to escape from Infinity Island. Relationships Green Arrow .]] Green Arrow was Speedy's mentor. Speedy believed that they were partners rather than hero and sidekick, and for the most part Green Arrow seemed to share this view. Green Arrow had a large amount of respect for Speedy, and was the only one of the four mentors who actually thought that his pupil might be ready to join the League. However, when Batman and the rest of the mentors disagreed, Green Arrow was forced to back down, which led Speedy to feel betrayed by his mentor. Nevertheless, he continues to live in Green Arrow's shadow: even when operating solo, his enemies such as Brick continue to believe that he is little more than Green Arrow's sidekick. Weisman, Greg (2011-07-25). "Question #13403". ''Ask Greg. Retrieved 2011-10-28. The relationship was eventually salvaged, and they worked together again. Green Arrow typically refers to him as "Roy", even in front of members of the Justice League and the Team. Artemis and Green Arrow.]] Artemis replaced Speedy as Green Arrow's protégé. On their first meeting, Red Arrow was not impressed, and immediately knew that Artemis was not Green Arrow's niece, as she and Green Arrow claimed, and later confronted her about this. He said that he would not reveal her secret, since he assumed Green Arrow and Batman must have had a good reason for lying, but he threatened her not to hurt his friends. The Team It's been implied that Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash and Roy are friends of sorts, having worked together on several occasions, but their meeting on July 4 was the first time they were all together at once. But while the other three do their best to show friendly dispositions towards Roy, he does not necessarily return those feelings in a conventional sense. Weisman, Greg (2011-04-07). Question #13202. Ask Greg. Retrieved 2011-08-11. After leaving Green Arrow, Roy has demonstrated annoyance at the others for not following his lead and for being more accepting of their positions in the superhero community. He doesn't seem to appreciate the high opinion the others have for him, and is even dismissive of the fact they have formed their own Team. Still, on some level, Roy does consider them his friends, and is intent on protecting them, particularly from their new teammate Artemis, whom he considers a threat due to her mysterious origins. On at least two separate occasions, his first instinct when seeking help has been to turn to his friends, first to protect Serling Roquette, and then to stop an assassination attempt by Cheshire and Sportsmaster. After Aqualad helped Red Arrow with this second matter, Roy admitted that the younger heroes have his respect, and he apologized for his attitude, citing that he's still getting used to the "solo act stuff". He then tells Aqualad that should they need his help, he'll be there for them. Cheshire Cheshire seemed to be attracted to Roy when they first met. She was flirtatious when he interrogated her, and considered their meetings "dates". Appearances Background in other media * In the comics, Roy has had three codenames: Speedy, Arsenal and Red Arrow. He is considered one of the founding members of the first teen hero teams, the Teen Titans. However, in truth, he was a late-comer to the Team, first only acting in a guest star to the Team before he officially joined the Team in Issue #19 as a replacement for Aqualad (Garth) who quit the Team for a period. * In the comics, Roy was in a romantic relationship with assassin Cheshire, which resulted in them having a child together, Lian Harper. Lian unfortunately was killed recently in the mini-series "Justice League: Cry for Justice". Another major influence on his character was his addiction to heroin. Although he recovered from his initial addiction, he has recently regressed into a full-blown heroin addict following the death of his daughter. * This is the fifth animated iteration of Speedy, who debuted in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure's Teen Titans segments. Later, between 2004 and 2006, he was featured on six episodes of Teen Titans and in 2006 on one episode of Justice League Unlimited. More recently, Speedy appeared in two Batman: The Brave and the Bold episodes. This, however, is Red Arrow's first animated debut. Notes References External links * Rejected character design of Speedy by Character Designer Jerome Moore. Category:A to Z Category:Archers Category:Featured articles Category:Humans Category:Individuals